Frequently Asked Questions
We've assembled this section to give you quick answers to some common
questions that many GED test-takers would like answered. If you still
have questions after you read through this section, please contact GED Testing Service for more
information.
Jump to a question:
General Questions about GED Tests
- What does GED stand for?
- When and why did GED Testing begin?
- What are the GED Tests?
- Are the GED Tests available
online?
- Who produces the GED Tests?
- How does the GED Testing program
work?
- How many people take the GED
Tests?
- What does it mean to "pass" the GED
Tests?
- What should I tell someone who's interested
in GED testing?
Questions for Test-takers
- What are the benefits of earning a GED
credential?
- Who is eligible?
- What do I have to do to pass?
- Should I study?
- How much time does it take to complete?
- Where do I go to take the GED
Tests?
- How much does it cost?
- What do my scores mean?
- How do you convert GED test scores to a GPA?
- What if I don't pass all the tests the first
time?
- What makes a GED credential
"equivalent?"
- How many questions do I need to get right
on each of the GED Tests to earn the 410 passing score?
- Will passing the GED Tests get me into
college?
- Are GED graduates eligible for financial
aid for college?
- How do I locate my scores?
- What accommodations are available for
people with disabilities?
Language Arts, Writing Test Questions
- How are the GED Language Arts, Writing Test
essays scored?
- What is the passing score for the
essay?
- When I receive my Language Arts, Writing Test
score, how can I tell if I earned a score of 2 or higher on my
essay?
- How do GED essay readers score papers? What do
they consider the most important elements of good writing?
- What will the essay topic ask me to do? Can I
find out what past topics have been on the writing test? Do I need any
prior preparation for the essay?
- When I took the Official GED Practice
Test, I found that the essay question was not really a question.
Why?
- Does the GED Testing Service offer programs to
help prepare GED candidates to write essays for the Language Arts,
Writing Test? Where can I get help with writing essays?
- How long does my essay have to be
now?
- Writing textbooks will not always agree on
the same point. For example, one book will tell writers to use a comma
after each item in a series (e.g., coffee, eggs, juice, and toast), but
another book might tell writers to omit the last comma before the
conjunction (e.g. coffee, eggs, juice and toast.). Which is correct?
Will essay readers give me a lower score?
- The GED Testing Service essay scoring guide
refers to "the conventions of EAE." What is EAE?
What does "GED" stand
for?
GED—A trademarked acronym used for the General Educational
Development Tests, a battery of examinations administered by states and
jurisdictions to measure the skills and knowledge similar to a high
school course of study. GED graduates earn a GED credential. The type of
credential issued, diploma or certificate, varies by state.
When and why
did GED® testing begin?
At the request of the military, the GED Tests were first developed in
1942 to help returning World War II veterans finish their high school
studies and reenter civilian life. The GED Tests first became available
to civilians in 1947 when the state of New York implemented a program to
award its high school diploma to those who passed.
What are the GED
Tests?
The Tests of General Educational Development (GED Tests) are designed
to measure the skills and knowledge equivalent to a high school course
of study. The five subject area tests which comprise the GED test
battery are Mathematics; Language Arts, Reading; Language Arts, Writing
(including essay); Science; and Social Studies.
Are the GED
Tests available online?
The GED Tests cannot be taken online. Information may be available on
the Internet about the tests or preparing for the tests, but the
official tests are only available at an Official GED Testing Center. To
locate a testing center go to www.GEDtest.org/locator.
To read more information about the myths and warnings about testing
online, go to our Truth About
GED Testing Online page.
Who produces the GED
Tests?
The GED Tests are developed, delivered, and safeguarded by content
specialists, researchers, psychometricians, and other staff of the
General Educational Development Testing Service™ (GEDTS), a
nonprofit program of the American Council on Education®.
The tests are owned by ACE.
How
does the GED testing program work?
The GED testing program is an international partnership involving the
GED Testing Service, each of the 50 U.S. states and the District of
Columbia, the Canadian provinces and territories, the U.S. insular
areas, the U.S. military and federal correctional institutions, and the
veterans administration hospitals.
GEDTS establishes the test administration procedures and passing
standard. All jurisdictions administer the GED Tests and award their
high school credentials to adults who meet the GED Tests passing
standards and any other additional jurisdictional requirements.
How many people take
the GED Tests?
In 2007, more than 728,000 adults worldwide took some portion of the
GED test battery. Of that total, more than 614,000 (86%) completed the
battery of five tests and 451,000 earned passing scores on the five-test
battery.
What does it mean to "pass" the GED Tests?
In order to pass the GED Tests, an examinee must have a combined passing
score of 2250; in addition, each individual subject area test score must
be 410 or greater. Those passing the GED Tests have demonstrated a level
of knowledge equal to or greater than 40% of graduating high school
seniors.
What does it
mean to "pass" the GED Tests?
In order to pass the GED Tests, an examinee must have a
combined passing score of 2250; in addition, each individual subject
area test score must be 410 or greater. Those passing the GED Tests have
demonstrated a level of knowledge equal to or greater than 40% of
graduating high school seniors.
What should I tell
someone who's interested in GED testing?
Please direct GED test-takers to our website at www.GEDtest.org or to the GED
hotline at 800-626-9433.
What are the benefits of
earning a GED credential?
Among the many benefits of the GED testing program, passing
the GED Tests provides an opportunity for adults to continue their
education. In fact, 95 percent of U.S. colleges and universities accept
GED graduates who meet their other qualifications for admission,
according to the College Board.
A GED credential documents that you have high school-level academic
skills. About 96 percent of U.S. employers accept the GED credential as
equal to a traditional high school diploma, according to recent
studies.
Who is eligible to take
the GED Tests?
You may take the GED Tests if:
- You are not enrolled in high school, and
- You have not graduated from high school, and
- You are at least age 16, and
- You meet state, provincial, or territorial requirements regarding
age, residency, and the length of time since leaving school.
If you are considering leaving high school, the GED Testing Service
recommends that you first meet with your high school counselor to talk
seriously about your decision and the level of academic skill needed to
pass the GED Tests.
Free publications are available to help in providing information
about the tests. Check with your state, province, or
territory's contact person for GED testing. Or search for a nearby
testing center by entering your zip code at www.GEDtest.org/locator.
What do I have to do to
pass the GED Tests?
You have to be able to read, compute, interpret information, and
express yourself in writing on a level comparable to that of 60 percent
of graduating high school seniors. If you are uncertain whether you have
the level of skill needed to successfully complete the tests, you can
find out more about your abilities in several ways. Many programs are
sponsored by local school districts, colleges, and community
organizations. Teachers and tutors in these programs can tell you
whether you need intensive preparation or a quick "brush up."
Adult education and GED preparation classes
(Check your local telephone listings)
Self-study
- Your local bookstore or library carries GED and pre-GED preparation
texts
- Your local public television station may carry "GED Connection"
Call (800) 62-MY-GED for
- A referral to a local GED preparation program or testing site
- An information brochure, and/or
- A self-scoring version of the practice tests; and
- Locating your state, province, or
territory's contact person for GED instruction
Should I study for the GED
Tests?
Preparation is an essential part of any important examination. You
probably have gained some knowledge and skills thorough life experience,
reading, and informal training, but remember that the GED Tests are a
rigorous battery of five tests that take more than seven and a half
hours to complete. Regardless of your ability, you'll be more certain to
perform your best on the tests if you know what to expect before the
testing day arrives.
How much time does it take to complete
the GED Tests?
The battery of five GED Tests takes 7 hours and 5 minutes to
complete. In some areas, you must take the entire battery of tests in
one or two sittings. Other places permit you to take a single test each
time you come to the testing center and may offer testing in the
evenings. It may take up to several weeks for your scores to be reported
back to you. Check with your state, province, or
territory's contact person for GED testing to find out about testing
procedures in your area.
Where do I go to take
the GED Tests?
There are approximately 3,400 Official GED Testing Centers in the
United States, Canada, and their territories. They are usually operated
by local school boards, adult education centers, and/or community
colleges.
If you live outside the United States, Canada, or their territories,
you may be able to take the GED Tests at a testing facility operated by
Prometric. Contact the regional registration center
nearest you for specific information about testing locations and
procedures.
How much does it cost to take the GED
Tests?
The cost of taking the GED Tests varies widely from no charge in some
U.S. states to as much as $80 in others. Check with your state, province, or
territory's contact person for GED testing or your local official
GED Testing Center to find out about how to register for testing.
To find out about fees outside the United States, contact Prometric.
What do my scores
mean?
Your official GED transcript contains two sets of numbers: standard
scores and percentile ranks. The standard scores make it possible to
compare scores across tests and test forms. This is necessary because
some tests contain a different number of questions and there are many
forms of the GED Tests in circulation, all of them equally
difficult.
The percentile rank makes it possible to compare your performance on
each one of the tests with the performance of graduating high school
seniors. The higher the percentile rank, the better your
performance.
Example: Kelly's total score after completing all five of the
GED Tests is 2,850; her average standard score is 570. The percentile
rank for that score is 77. The percentile rank of “77” means
that Kelly has outperformed 77 out of 100 graduating high school
seniors. Such a score places Kelly in the top 25 percent (100-77=23) of
graduating U.S. high school seniors in terms of her general academic
skills and knowledge.
How do you convert GED test scores to a
GPA?
Letter grades (A, B, C, etc.) are not standardized across every high
school; that is, an "A" student at one high school may be a "C" student
at a more rigorous high school. Therefore, we cannot equate GED test
scores to a GPA. We can provide a national percentile rank that tells
you where a GED candidate stands in relation to graduating high school
seniors.
What if I don't pass all the
tests the first time?
You can take one or more of the tests again. However, note that many
jurisdictions have special requirements for candidates who don't pass
the GED Tests the first time. You may be required to wait several months
or show proof of attending a preparation course before you're permitted
to re-test. You may also have to pay an additional fee. For the specific
regulations in your area, check with your state, province, or
territory's contact person for GED testing.
What makes a GED credential
"equivalent?"
The GED Tests are developed using specifications established by
experienced secondary school and adult educators and are reviewed by
subject matter experts. Every test question is subjected to multiple
reviews by test specialists and external content specialists, and is
pretested before becoming part of a final test form. The GED Tests are
also standardized and normed using a national stratified random sample
of graduating high school seniors. In order to pass the tests, the GED
candidate must demonstrate a level of skill that meets or surpasses that
demonstrated by approximately 60 percent of graduating high school
seniors.
How many
questions do I need to get right on each of the GED Tests to earn the
410 passing score?
Each correct answer is worth one point. For each individual GED test,
these points are totaled and then converted to a standard score, which
ranges from 200 to 800. Candidates need a standard score of 410 in order
to pass each of the individual GED Tests and an overall average score of
450 for the five-test battery. To receive a 410 standard score on an
individual GED test, candidates generally need to answer 60 to 65
percent of the questions correctly.
Will passing
the GED Tests get me into college?
About 95 percent of U.S. colleges and universities accept GED
graduates in the same manner as high school graduates. GED graduates are
also eligible for most federal financial aid if they meet the program's
other criteria. After earning your GED credential, sign up to take the
ACT
and/or the SAT. The colleges to which you apply may also
require you to take placement or achievement tests so that they can
determine whether you need additional coursework.
Are GED graduates
eligible for financial aid for college?
Federal monies are available to GED recipients as they are to
traditional high school graduates who meet the eligibility criteria.
These requirements usually include demonstrated financial need. A
student must be enrolled in an accredited program leading to degrees or
certificates. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or eligible noncitizens
and must have Social Security numbers. The U.S. Department of Education' Office of Student
Financial Assistance publishes two booklets that you may find helpful.
Call the Federal Student Aid Information Center, 1-800-4FED AID
(1-800-433-3243) Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Eastern
time, or write to them at PO Box 84, Washington, DC 20044.
Additional information on financing your college education can also
be found on the College is
Possible web site.
The GED Testing Service publishes a free brochure for GED graduates
about finding financial aid and a companion booklet for adult educators.
Visit our Publications
page to learn more.
How do I locate my
scores?
If you took the GED Tests through a GED Testing Center, you should
contact your local testing
center to get your scores.
If you took the GED Tests while in the military services, in the Job
Corps, or at a correctional institution, your scores may be housed at a
location outside GED Testing Centers. Please consult the information
available on our Transcript
Request page.
What accommodations
are available for people with disabilities who want to take the GED
Tests?
For candidates with a documented physical, sensory, emotional, or
specific learning disability, test accommodations are available. These
accommodations may be requested by candidates who have disabilities that
can be expected to negatively affect the candidate’s chances of
passing the GED Tests.
Tests are available in U.S. English-language Braille, U.S. and
Canadian English-language audiocassette, and in large print editions. In
addition, with documented disability, the following accommodations to
the standard testing environment may be made: extended time, supervised
breaks, use of an audiocassette edition, calculator, scribe, and, in
some instances, a private room for testing. Some accommodations are not
permitted—for example, having the questions read out loud to the
candidate. The GED Testing Service does not permit the use of a
dictionary or a spell checker.
Each request for accommodation, or for testing session modifications,
is considered on an individual basis. To begin the process of requesting
an accommodation, a GED candidate should go to the nearest GED
Testing Center and request Form L-15 (for specific learning
disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and Form
SA-001 (for emotional and physical disabilities). These forms describe
the information needed to document the disability. When the form is
complete, it should be returned to the GED Testing Center. The GED
Testing Service is available during regular business hours to answer
specific questions about policies and procedures.
Because extended testing hours and special materials are often
needed, the first point of contact for the person with a disability or
his/her advocate must be the nearest GED Testing Center.
Language Arts, Writing Test Questions
How are the GED Language
Arts, Writing Test essays scored?
Since January 2002, GED Language Arts, Writing Test (Part II) essays
have been scored on a 4-point holistic scale.
Two trained essay readers read each essay and score based on the
overall impression. The overall impression of each paper is based
on five areas:
- Does the paper respond to the assigned prompt—did the
candidate use the topic on the test?
- Can the reader see or follow an organized plan for development?
- Are there specific and relevant details to support the paper's
focus?
- Are the conventions of language (grammar, usage, and mechanics)
generally followed?
- Is the word choice precise, varied, and appropriate?
The two readers' scores are then averaged. If the essay receives a
score of 2 or higher, the essay score is combined with the
multiple-choice score to form a composite. If a candidate receives a
score of 1 or 1.5 on the essay , there will be no
composite score, and the candidate must retake both the essay and
multiple-choice portion.
NOTE: Please note that individual essay scores are not
reported. On the composite score, the multiple-choice score results
represent 65 percent of the composite, and the essay score represents 35
percent.
Essay readers may not be more than one point apart in their scoring.
In those cases where the readers are more than one point apart, the
Chief Reader for the scoring site will set the score by agreeing with
the reader whose score follows the GED Testing Service scale.
What is the passing score for
the essay?
A GED candidate must earn a score of 2 or higher on the
Language Arts, Writing Test, Part II essay in order to receive a
composite score and obtain a passing score.
A candidate needs a score of 2 or higher to earn a passing
score. States may set a composite passing score (multiple-choice and
essay) that is higher than the current minimum GED passing score of 410.
The composite passing score cannot be set lower than the GED Testing
Service standard score.
When I receive my Language
Arts, Writing Test score, how can I tell if I earned a score of 2 or
higher on my essay?
If you received a score on your transcript in the range of 200-800,
you would have earned at least a score of 2 (minimum passing
score on the 4-point scale) on your essay.
If you received a double (**) asterisk on your transcript, then you
did not earn a 2 on your essay. Note: A single asterisk
(*) indicates that you did not write on the assigned topic, and your
response was recorded as "off topic."
If it was your essay score that kept you from passing, you will still
have to retake both parts of the Language Arts, Writing Test. We highly
recommend that you seek some additional preparation before retaking any
of the GED Tests. You may want to check the Steck-Vaughn web
site or those of other commercial publishers.
GED candidates can find other preparation guides at their local
libraries, bookstores, and on such commercial Web sites as www.amazon.com.
How do GED essay readers score
papers? What do they consider the most important elements of good
writing?
Good writing needs a focus, organization, and development with
specific and relevant examples, details, explanations, etc. You'll see
these elements at the top of our scoring grid. Our readers are
especially concerned with the development that supports a focus. They do
not, however, look for specific errors in grammar, usage, and
mechanics—they don't score with the same elements in mind that a
classroom teacher would.
Errors in grammar, etc. would affect a score only if they are so
numerous and hinder the reader from understanding and following the
writer's ideas. Consequently, writers need to minimize errors, so these
mistakes don't distract the readers from the ideas in the paper.
What will the essay topic
ask me to do? Can I find out what past topics have been on the writing
test? Do I need any prior preparation for the essay?
Candidates will be asked to write on a topic of general interest. The
topics are brief and generally ask candidates to state their views and
support with examples from their own observation, knowledge, or
experience.
We don't release our topics; however, Steck-Vaughn—the adult
education publisher who produces our Official GED Practice
Tests—offers materials to help GED teachers and candidates. For
example, their Official Practice Test Administrator's Manual
contains two GED topics, anchor papers for each topic, and 10 to 15
sample essays with commentary. Steck-Vaughn also produces a CD-ROM
developed by the GED Testing Service to train teachers how to score
their students' papers using the 4-point scale. You may want to check Steck-Vaughn's web
site.
GED candidates can find other preparation guides at their local
libraries, bookstores, and through such commercial Web sites as www.amazon.com.
When I took the
Official GED Practice Test, I found that the essay question was not
really a question. Why?
Although called the "Essay Question," this is really a
prompt—designed to do just that, prompt you, or help you
begin to write about a topic. All of our topics are general enough that
you will only need your own knowledge, experience, or observations to
respond. The topics are expository in nature.
Does the GED Testing Service
offer programs to help prepare GED candidates to write essays for the
Language Arts, Writing Test? Where can I get help with writing
essays?
We develop the tests for use in U.S. states and Canadian provinces.
The GED Testing Service does not offer test preparation. We strongly
urge you, especially if you have been away from academic writing for
some time, to enroll in a review course and take the Official GED
Practice Test so that you can get feedback on your writing. There are
several study guides available in local bookstores and libraries.
You may also want to check this GED web site (also accessible via www.GEDtest.org); go to the page for
"Prospective Test Takers," then click on "Preparation," then click on
"Materials." Or you may call 1-800-636-9433 (1-800-62MYGED) to locate
the Official GED Testing Center nearest you. The center's staff can tell
you where to find an instructional program.
The older form of the GED
Writing Skills Test provided a recommended word count for the essay. How
long does my essay have to be now?
Your essay score is not based on a word count. So you will not
necessarily fail if you have fewer than 200 words. For the 2002 Series
GED Tests, the suggested word count was omitted. The word count was
intended as a guide, not a requirement. However, we found examinees
focusing more on the count than the presentation and development of
ideas.
The only requirement for the essay's length is that it must be
written on the two sides of the answer sheet. Essay readers
will not read additional pages.
Writing textbooks
will not always agree on the same point. For example, one book will tell
writers to use a comma after each item in a series (e.g. coffee, eggs,
juice, and toast), but another book might tell writers to omit the last
comma before the conjunction (e.g. coffee, eggs, juice and toast.).
Which is correct? Will essay readers give me a lower score?
Both of the comma-use instances that you cite are correct. Most
English teachers will agree that the comma before the "and" is optional;
however, the writer must be consistent. If the writer omits the comma
before "and," he must omit it every time there are three or more items
in a series. Likewise, if the comma is used, the writer must use it in
all cases. Consistency is the key.
When our trained readers are reading the essays for a score, they are
looking for an overall impression, not individual errors. Grammar,
usage, and mechanics errors will affect a reader's score if there are a
sufficient number of errors that collectively make it difficult for the
reader to understand or follow the writer's ideas. Therefore, the two
applications of the comma for the last item in a series would not affect
the reader's score.
As a side note, multiple-choice items on Language Arts, Writing, Part
I will not test the comma use between the next to last item and the last
item. However, the comma between items one and two (in a series of three
or more items) will be tested.
The GED Testing Service essay
scoring guide refers to "the conventions of EAE." What is EAE?
Edited American English (EAE) is fundamentally the same as Standard
Written English (SWE), i.e., those conventions of grammar, usage, and
mechanics that writers and speakers adhere to in order to communicate
effectively. In planning ahead for the 2002 Series GED Tests in 1997,
the Writing Test Specifications Committee aligned itself with the
National Council of Teachers of English, who use EAE as the norm for the
variety of English that is most used by educated speakers of the
language.
For writers, the significance is that they must still employ a style,
grammar, and usage that allows a mutual level of comprehension and
understanding among educated speakers and writers. For example, EAE
still governs when to use who or whom, is or
are, pronoun forms, verb form and verb tense, adjective or adverb
forms, parallel constructions, and sentence structure. Basically, only
the name has changed.
One reason for the change is perception. (Any writing that is not
standard is, therefore, perceived by many as substandard.)
The Writing Test Specifications Committee wanted to remove any
impediment that may have negative impact on a candidate's performance.
The changeover to the term EAE offsets any negative impact that a
candidate may feel if his or her writing is interpreted as
substandard.
Please direct questions about this page to:
ged@ace.nche.edu
This page last updated on 09/22/2009
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